Academic literature on the topic 'Urban Ecology Australia'
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Journal articles on the topic "Urban Ecology Australia"
1
Davis, R. A., and J. A. Wilcox. "Adapting to suburbia: bird ecology on an urban-bushland interface in Perth, Western Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 19, no. 2 (2013): 110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc130110.
Full textAbstract:
Birds in urban landscapes must contend with fragmented and degraded remnants of native vegetation and their survival may be dependent on factors such as their ability to disperse through and/or utilize the urban matrix. We examined the frequency of occurrence of birds in native bushland in Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia, and in nine adjacent suburban gardens. We quantified dispersal capacity by observing bird crossing frequency and height over a major six-lane road separating the bushland from adjacent gardens. Finally we quantified matrix utilisation by recording foraging behaviour in urban gardens and bushland. Native bushland had a higher species richness than urban gardens (30 versus 17 species) and 18 species were associated more strongly with bushland. Of these 18 species, 61% were never recorded in urban gardens. Gardens were typified by three generalist species, the Singing Honeyeater Lichenostomus virescens and the introduced Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis and Spotted Dove S. chinensis. Three generalist species, the Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata, Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus, and Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta were equally abundant in all habitats. Four of 18 bird species (Singing Honeyeater Red Wattlebird, Rainbow Lorikeet, and Australian Ringneck Barnardius zonarius) accounted for the majority of road crossing events. Urban gardens provided a rich resource for generalists and urban exploiters, all of which spent significantly more time foraging on nectar in gardens and significantly more time foraging on insects in bushland. We conclude that urban gardens provide habitat for some species that exploit nectar, but most species in bushland, particularly insectivores, do not use gardens. Our results indicate the importance of retaining well-managed bushland for supporting viable urban bird populations.
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McPherson, J. R. "Studies in Urban Ecology: Strangler Figs in the Urban Parklands of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia." Australian Geographical Studies 37, no. 3 (November 1999): 214–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8470.00080.
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JENKINS, D. J., and C. N. L. MACPHERSON. "Transmission ecology ofEchinococcusin wild-life in Australia and Africa." Parasitology 127, S1 (October 2003): S63—S72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182003003871.
Full textAbstract:
Following the introduction ofE. granulosusinto Australia with domestic animals during European settlement, the parasite quickly became established in theE. granulosus-naive native animals of the continent. The distribution ofE. granulosusin wildlife in Australia is restricted by rainfall, but nevertheless the parasite is currently widespread and highly prevalent in many areas including numerous national parks and privately owned farms. The human population of Africa is rapidly increasing resulting in ever more pressure on wild-life populations and habitat. National parks, reserves and conservation areas now provide important tracts of preserved habitat for maintaining populations of wildlife that are also important in the maintenance ofE. granulosus. In some parts of Africa, hydatid-infected humans provide a source ofE. granulosusinfection to wildlife definitive hosts. In many areas felids may also act as important definitive hosts forE. granulosuswith the parasite being maintained in a prey/predator relationship between lions and a range of intermediate hosts. Populations ofE. granulosus-infected wild-life both in Australia and Africa act as important reservoirs in perpetuating the transmission ofE. granulosusto both domestic animals and humans. In Australia,E. granulosus-infected wild-life is infiltrating urban areas and currently represents a potentially important new public health problem.
4
Noack, Ann, Jyri Kaapro, Kathryn Bartimote-Aufflick, Sarah Mansfield, and Harley Rose. "Efficacy of Imidacloprid in the Control of Thaumastocoris peregrinus on Eucalyptus scoparia in Sydney, Australia." Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 35, no. 4 (July 1, 2009): 192–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2009.032.
Full textAbstract:
Thaumastocoris peregrinus, an Australian native, is a new and serious pest of urban eucalypts planted in Sydney and commercial centers of Australia. In recent years, it has spread to and attained pest status in South African Eucalyptus plantations and, more recently, has been discovered in Argentina and Uruguay. Mature Eucalyptus scoparia street trees, growing in a southern Sydney suburb, were microinjected with imidacloprid at three concentrations and monitored for three years. The abundance of T. peregrinus on treated eucalypts declined significantly compared to untreated trees over this time. Further, at the lowest concentration of chemical this insect was effectively controlled for two years. Imidacloprid (SilvaShield®; Bayer Environmental Science) has been registered in Australia for the control of T. peregrinus.
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O'Connor, Julie M., Sanjeev K. Srivastava, Elizabeth A. Brunton, and Scott E. Burnett. "Urban fringe dweller: the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban coastal ecosystem." Australian Journal of Zoology 68, no. 1 (2020): 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo20069.
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The spatial ecology of the European red fox in urban environments has not been widely studied in Australia. The spatial organisation and habitat selection of red foxes in coastal south-east Queensland was investigated using the GPS data from 17 collared foxes from seven putative fox families. Home range and core activity areas were calculated using 95% (KDE95) and 50% (KDE50) kernel density estimates respectively. Mean KDE95 home range size was 198 ha, and the mean core (KDE50) use area was 34 ha. Habitat selection, based on four broad habitat classes – Beach, Dunes, Urban and Green Space – was assessed using compositional analyses. At both 2nd order (study site) and 3rd order (home range) habitat selection, urban space was overwhelmingly the least preferred habitat in the study area despite being the most extensive habitat type. The unusual findings of this study contribute to a broader understanding of the ecology of this previously unstudied fox population.
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Chessman, Bruce C., Nina Bate, Peter A. Gell, and Peter Newall. "A diatom species index for bioassessment of Australian rivers." Marine and Freshwater Research 58, no. 6 (2007): 542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf06220.
Full textAbstract:
The Diatom Index for Australian Rivers (DIAR), originally developed at the genus level, was reformulated at the species level with data from diatom sampling of rivers in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. The resulting Diatom Species Index for Australian Rivers (DSIAR) was significantly correlated with the ARCE (Assessment of River Condition, Environment) index developed in the Australian National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA), and with nine of the ARCE’s constituent indices and sub-indices, across 395 river reaches in south-eastern Australia. These correlations were generally stronger than those shown by the biological index that was used to assess river condition in the NLWRA, the ARCB (Assessment of River Condition, Biota) index based on macroinvertebrates and the Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS). At a finer spatial scale, DSIAR was strongly and significantly correlated with measures of catchment urbanisation for streams in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. DSIAR scores across south-eastern Australia bore little relationship to the latitude, longitude or altitude of sampling sites, suggesting that DSIAR is not greatly affected by macro-geographical position. In addition, DSIAR scores did not vary greatly among small-scale hydraulic environments within a site. DSIAR appears to have potential as a broad-scale indicator of human influences on Australian rivers, especially the effects of agricultural and urban land use, and also for impact studies at a local scale. Further evaluation is warranted to test the sensitivity of the index to natural variables such as catchment geology, and to assess its performance in northern, western and inland Australia.
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Smith, Geoffrey C., and Nicholas Carlile. "Food and Feeding Ecology of Breeding Silver Gulls (Larus novaehollandiae) in Urban Australia." Colonial Waterbirds 16, no. 1 (1993): 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1521551.
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Fulton, Graham R., Grace R. Fulton, and Yee Wan Cheung. "A comparison of urban and peri-urban/hinterland nocturnal birds at Brisbane, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 26, no. 3 (2020): 239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc19042.
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This study identified and compared the abundance and detectability of owls and other nocturnal birds, over 1 year, in an urban parkland of a Brisbane suburb to a peri-urban/hinterland/rainforest site 27km away. Five owl species were detected, but only at the peri-urban/hinterland/rainforest site, they were powerful owl Ninox strenua, southern boobook Ninox boobook, sooty owl, Tyto tenebricosa, masked owl Tyto novaehollandiae and barn owl Tyto alba. A single southern boobook was detected outside the study, at the urban site. The tawny frogmouth Podargus strigoides was only detected at the urban site whereas the plumed frogmouth Podargus ocellatus plumiferus was only detected at the rainforest site. The bush stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius was the most frequently detected nocturnal species, yet we discuss its recent decline in Brisbane. Incidentally recorded mammals, reptiles, frogs and diurnal birds are given. The rainforest site had more scansorial mammals whereas the urban site had more possums, dogs and cats.
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Beer, Tanja, and Cristina Hernandez Santin. "Refugium WA: crafting connection through plant-relating arts-science experiences of urban ecology." Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies 5, no. 2 (December 22, 2017): 30–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/njsts.v5i2.2320.
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Various platforms have demonstrated the value of hands-on activities – such as community gardening and crafting – in making meaningful connections and collective identities for a sustainable and resilient future. In his seminal book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990), psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes how these activities can be an opportunity to engage with ‘flow’ – a highly focused mental state that increases awareness, connectivity and well-being. In Through Vegetal Being (2016), philosophers Luce Irigaray and Michael Marder also argue that it is through ‘vegetal’ (or plant relating) activities in particular (e.g. touching and smelling plants), that our relations with the more-than-human world can be reignited. Drawing upon these publications and others, this paper explores how combining these two modes of thought – to enable ‘flow’ through shared ‘vegetal’ or plant-based activities – may assist communities in gaining a greater awareness of and connection to sustainability. The potential of plant-based creative activities are examined through a recent, practice-led, arts-science research project (Refugium WA, Australia 2017), which used scientific knowledge and ‘vegetal’ or ‘botanical’ crafting as a way of engaging people in biodiversity issues. The project employed the community in creating mini native plant- sculptures which were temporally installed at the State Library of Western Australia. Indication of flow, increased nature-connection and biodiversity understanding were explored through gathering observations of the participants, pre- and post-activity surveys and discussions. The research sought to examine the capacity for vegetal- crafting activities to lead to new modes of arts-science communication that connect people to the importance of biodiversity in urban spaces.
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Moore, G. M., and A. Chandler. "The Potential of Yellow Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon F. Muell.) as an Urban Street Tree: An Assessment of Species Performance in the City of Greater Melbourne, Australia." Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 49, no. 1 (January 1, 2023): 16–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2023.003.
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"Background: In contrast to trees from northern hemisphere genera, there has been little research into the selection and vegetative propagation of Australian native tree species for use as street trees. Eucalyptus leucoxylon F. Muell. is one of a few eucalypts occurring in south-eastern Australia with bright coloured fl owers and is highly regarded as an ornamental tree that fl owers readily. It is propagated from seed, but progeny typically show seedling variability and diversity. Eucalyptus leucoxylon was identifi ed as the most widely planted eucalypt in the streets of the city of greater Melbourne, Australia. Methods: This research assessed 300 E. leucoxylon street trees growing across the city of greater Melbourne for their performance against arboricultural criteria relating to canopy structure and density, straightness of the trunk, health (assessed on canopy, trunk, and branch condition, production of exudates, and presence of fungal fruiting bodies), fl ower colour, and root systems. Results: The results showed that E. leucoxylon was a suitable street tree species with most specimens showing good habit, vigour, and health. Discussion: The trees had traits such as live crown ratio, height, fl ower colour, and capacity to cope with pruning that are considered appropriate for a street tree. Their dense canopies and high live crown ratios provide shade that can reduce the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Conclusion: This suggests the species has the potential to be a successful street tree not only in Australia, but in other parts of the world where it has been grown successfully in forestry plantations.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Urban Ecology Australia"
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Stenhouse, Renae N. "Ecology and management of bushland in Australian cities." University of Western Australia. School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, 2005. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0027.
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[Truncated abstract] Native vegetation (bushland) in urban areas remains in small, isolated patches embedded within a matrix of human-dominated land uses. Bushlands in urban areas have high biodiversity conservation and social values, and there has been a local-level movement towards protecting and managing urban bushlands in Australia. This thesis aims to test principles, theories and concepts relating to the ecology and management of bushland fragments in Australian cities ... A commonly used qualitative scale was compared with an ecologically based, quantitative technique developed in the research. The qualitative scale was found to be a reliable proxy for assessing vegetation condition, while also being more user-friendly for community groups and other bushland managers. The human-caused disturbances and weed cover in urban bushlands indicate a need for management intervention. Local government has an important role in local biodiversity management, yet there has been little research on this topic ... Positive partnerships developed where local governments have taken a ‘contract model’ approach to volunteer coordination, have a number of expectations of volunteer groups, and provide the groups with relatively high level of assistance. Also important is a local government that supports, respects, trusts and communicates with the community group, and recognises volunteers’ skills, knowledge and contributions. With increased resources allocated to local government bushland management and conservation, and coordination with community groups, the full potential of local bushland management would be realised.
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Lambert, David J., and n/a. "Ecology of invertebrates and predator - prey interactions on mosquito larvae in urban wetlands, ACT Australia." University of Canberra. Applied Science, 1989. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060815.125401.
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Giralang Pond was a water body, with little emergent or submerged
vegetation, designed to trap fine sediment and buffer input of rising water
to Ginninderra Wetland downstream. Ginninderra Wetland was designed
to retain and use sediment nutrients and other potential hazardous materials
in urban run-off. Water in the Wetland was more turbid and had lower
magnesium concentration, redox potentials and dissolved oxygen
concentration than did Giralang Pond. Water temperature was a minimum
of 4 °C in the winter and reached a summer maximum of 30 °C
Giralang Pond had more organisms but fewer taxa than Ginninderra
Wetland. The greatest abundance in the pond resulted principally from
high numbers of two numerically dominant species Calamoecia sp. and
Micronecta sp.. More organisms were found in vegetated habitats of
Ginninderra Wetland than open water habitats. The number of
invertebrates and the number of taxa found in Typha domingensis did not
differ significantly from similar estimates for Schoenplectus validus,
Gambusia qffinis was the dominant predator in both water bodies. On
one occasion, G. qffinis reached population densities of 35 individuals per
m-2 . G. qffinis was five times more abundant in Gininnderra Wetland than
in Giralang Pond and also showed a preference for vegetated areas.
G. qffinis over-grazed it's prey on several occasions.
G. qffinis, invertebrate predators and prey followed a pattern of a
community in a stable predator-prey cycle. Prey in early spring increased
population numbers and then decreased when G. qffinis and other predators
increased their numbers. The pattern was further strengthened by occurring
in both areas of open water and vegetated habitat types.
3
Kemp, Annabeth S. "Freshwater cyanoprokaryota blooms in the Swan Coastal Plain wetlands: ecology, taxonomy and toxicology." Thesis, Curtin University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1477.
Full textAbstract:
Relatively little published information on cyanoprokaryote (blue-green algal) blooms in the freshwater wetlands in Western Australia is available. There has been little research on the urban lakes and rivers, examining the relationship between environmental conditions and toxin-producing blooms. In this project the ecology, morphology and toxicity of cyanoprokaryota blooms in 27 metropolitan lakes and sumplands, as well as three major rivers, from 2000 to 2003, on the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP) in the southwest of Western Australia were investigated.A total of 24 species were identified and described, of which nine species had not been previously documented in the area. This included the potentially toxic species Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Aphanizomenon ovalisporum and Anabaena bergii var. limnetica. An illustrated guide to the common bloom-forming species was generated using conventional taxonomic criteria.Microcystis flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa were the dominant bloom-forming cyanoprokaryotes, widespread in their distribution. Anabaena circinalis, A. bergii var. limnetica and Anabaenopsis elenkinii were the common filamentous species. Anabaena circinalis was common to certain freshwater sites, while A. bergii var. limnetica and A. elenkinii occurred in salinity ranging from fresh (< 1ppt) to hyposaline (3-10 ppt). Sites with similar species assemblages were identified using two-way indicator species analysis and clustering analysis. From this, a distinct distribution pattern emerged, which was defined by the main genera observed in the lakes – Microcystis, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon and Anabaenopsis.The spatial and temporal distribution of the common bloom-forming cyanoprokaryote species was examined in conjunction with spring-summer physico-chemical data using principal component analysis. It was found that pH, water temperature and electrical conductivity/salinity accounted for variations among the lakes, with electrical conductivity the variable explaining the greatest variation. Lakes located on the coast, or further inland at the base of the Darling Scarp, were more hyposaline to saline, and the remaining lakes were fresh. Although the SCP lakes form consanguineous groups based on geochemistry and hydrology, no similarities among them were found in terms of water quality.The relationship between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations (total and dissolved inorganic) and cyanoprokaryote community structure (N-fixing versus non-N-fixing species) was investigated in five selected lakes; Yangebup Lake, Bibra Lake, Blue Gum Lake, Tomato Lake and Emu Lake. The lakes ranged from mesotrophic to eutrophic and supported spring-summer blooms containing multiple species. Overall an inverse relationship between cyanoprokaryote abundance and total ambient nutrient concentrations at the time of the blooms was evident. No transition in dominance in the community was observed in Yangebup Lake, Emu Lake and Bibra Lake, as they were dominated by non-heterocytic species (M. aeruginosa and M. flos-aquae) throughout spring and summer. For Yangebup Lake and Bibra Lake, the abundance of non-heterocytic species decreased concomitantly with decreasing dissolved inorganic N. In contrast, heterocytic species (A. circinalis) dominated the spring community in Tomato Lake, and summer community in Blue Gum Lake, when N and P concentrations were at their highest.The presence of microcystins in Microcystis dominated blooms was examined using high performance chromatography. A total of 32 natural bloom samples, representing 13 lakes, were analysed for microcystin variants; -LR, -RR and -YR. Twenty-eight samples proved to be toxic with the highest total microcystin concentration from 1645 to 8428.6 µg L[superscript]-1, the lowest concentrations were less than 10 µg L[superscript]-1 with some below the detection limit. Microcystis aeruginosa and M. flos-aquae were associated with these microcystin-containing blooms, although M. flos-aquae appear to be less toxic. The presence of Nodularia spumigena in the Lake Yangebup was associated with high concentrations of nodularin (1664 µg L[superscript]-1).Employing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for microcystins and the brine shrimp (Artemia) bioassays allowed a greater number of lake samples to be analysed and provided a rapid assessment of toxicity. The three methods for cyanotoxin detection verified Yangebup Lake, Herdsman Lake, Hyde Park, Jackadder Lake and Emu Lake as highly toxic sites. Low toxicity was demonstrated in samples from Lake Goollelal, Lake Joondalup, Lake Claremont, Blue Gum Lake and North Lake. These results provided the first evidence of cyanotoxin producing blooms in urban lakes of the SCP.A comparative study on cyanoprokaryota blooms in Swan River estuary, upper Canning River and upper Serpentine River found that these sites, although hyposaline to saline, contained species that were common in the freshwater lakes. Sampling the river systems showed M. aeruginosa, M. flos-aquae, A. circinalis, A. elenkinii and Planktothrix planctonica to be cosmopolitan in distribution, present in SCP wetlands of varied salinity. Similarities between the upper Canning River and lakes in environmental conditions and species assemblage were demonstrated using multivariate analyses.Toxin analysis of bloom samples from the Swan River and upper Canning River revealed microcystin concentrations were less than that of the surrounding lakes (1.05-124.16 µg L[superscript]-1). Similarly, nodularin concentrations were higher in Yangebup Lake than the upper Serpentine River. However, the dominance of Anabaena in Canning River samples, and the highly toxic result from the Artemia bioassay suggests microcystin is not the predominant cyanotoxin in this wetland.This study has produced an overview of the distribution and morphology of cyanotoxin-producing cyanoprokaryotes in the SCP wetlands. The data presented provide the basis for further cyanoprokaryote research in Western Australia, in particular the molecular characterisation of bloom-forming toxic species.
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Kemp, Annabeth S. "Freshwater cyanoprokaryota blooms in the Swan Coastal Plain wetlands: ecology, taxonomy and toxicology." Curtin University of Technology, Division of Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Biology, 2009. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=129384.
Full textAbstract:
Relatively little published information on cyanoprokaryote (blue-green algal) blooms in the freshwater wetlands in Western Australia is available. There has been little research on the urban lakes and rivers, examining the relationship between environmental conditions and toxin-producing blooms. In this project the ecology, morphology and toxicity of cyanoprokaryota blooms in 27 metropolitan lakes and sumplands, as well as three major rivers, from 2000 to 2003, on the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP) in the southwest of Western Australia were investigated.A total of 24 species were identified and described, of which nine species had not been previously documented in the area. This included the potentially toxic species Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Aphanizomenon ovalisporum and Anabaena bergii var. limnetica. An illustrated guide to the common bloom-forming species was generated using conventional taxonomic criteria.
Microcystis flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa were the dominant bloom-forming cyanoprokaryotes, widespread in their distribution. Anabaena circinalis, A. bergii var. limnetica and Anabaenopsis elenkinii were the common filamentous species. Anabaena circinalis was common to certain freshwater sites, while A. bergii var. limnetica and A. elenkinii occurred in salinity ranging from fresh (< 1ppt) to hyposaline (3-10 ppt). Sites with similar species assemblages were identified using two-way indicator species analysis and clustering analysis. From this, a distinct distribution pattern emerged, which was defined by the main genera observed in the lakes – Microcystis, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon and Anabaenopsis.
The spatial and temporal distribution of the common bloom-forming cyanoprokaryote species was examined in conjunction with spring-summer physico-chemical data using principal component analysis. It was found that pH, water temperature and electrical conductivity/salinity accounted for variations among the lakes, with electrical conductivity the variable explaining the greatest variation. Lakes located on the coast, or further inland at the base of the Darling Scarp, were more hyposaline to saline, and the remaining lakes were fresh. Although the SCP lakes form consanguineous groups based on geochemistry and hydrology, no similarities among them were found in terms of water quality.
The relationship between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations (total and dissolved inorganic) and cyanoprokaryote community structure (N-fixing versus non-N-fixing species) was investigated in five selected lakes; Yangebup Lake, Bibra Lake, Blue Gum Lake, Tomato Lake and Emu Lake. The lakes ranged from mesotrophic to eutrophic and supported spring-summer blooms containing multiple species. Overall an inverse relationship between cyanoprokaryote abundance and total ambient nutrient concentrations at the time of the blooms was evident. No transition in dominance in the community was observed in Yangebup Lake, Emu Lake and Bibra Lake, as they were dominated by non-heterocytic species (M. aeruginosa and M. flos-aquae) throughout spring and summer. For Yangebup Lake and Bibra Lake, the abundance of non-heterocytic species decreased concomitantly with decreasing dissolved inorganic N. In contrast, heterocytic species (A. circinalis) dominated the spring community in Tomato Lake, and summer community in Blue Gum Lake, when N and P concentrations were at their highest.
The presence of microcystins in Microcystis dominated blooms was examined using high performance chromatography. A total of 32 natural bloom samples, representing 13 lakes, were analysed for microcystin variants; -LR, -RR and -YR. Twenty-eight samples proved to be toxic with the highest total microcystin concentration from 1645 to 8428.6 µg L[superscript]-1, the lowest concentrations were less than 10 µg L[superscript]-1 with some below the detection limit. Microcystis aeruginosa and M. flos-aquae were associated with these microcystin-containing blooms, although M. flos-aquae appear to be less toxic. The presence of Nodularia spumigena in the Lake Yangebup was associated with high concentrations of nodularin (1664 µg L[superscript]-1).
Employing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for microcystins and the brine shrimp (Artemia) bioassays allowed a greater number of lake samples to be analysed and provided a rapid assessment of toxicity. The three methods for cyanotoxin detection verified Yangebup Lake, Herdsman Lake, Hyde Park, Jackadder Lake and Emu Lake as highly toxic sites. Low toxicity was demonstrated in samples from Lake Goollelal, Lake Joondalup, Lake Claremont, Blue Gum Lake and North Lake. These results provided the first evidence of cyanotoxin producing blooms in urban lakes of the SCP.
A comparative study on cyanoprokaryota blooms in Swan River estuary, upper Canning River and upper Serpentine River found that these sites, although hyposaline to saline, contained species that were common in the freshwater lakes. Sampling the river systems showed M. aeruginosa, M. flos-aquae, A. circinalis, A. elenkinii and Planktothrix planctonica to be cosmopolitan in distribution, present in SCP wetlands of varied salinity. Similarities between the upper Canning River and lakes in environmental conditions and species assemblage were demonstrated using multivariate analyses.
Toxin analysis of bloom samples from the Swan River and upper Canning River revealed microcystin concentrations were less than that of the surrounding lakes (1.05-124.16 µg L[superscript]-1). Similarly, nodularin concentrations were higher in Yangebup Lake than the upper Serpentine River. However, the dominance of Anabaena in Canning River samples, and the highly toxic result from the Artemia bioassay suggests microcystin is not the predominant cyanotoxin in this wetland.
This study has produced an overview of the distribution and morphology of cyanotoxin-producing cyanoprokaryotes in the SCP wetlands. The data presented provide the basis for further cyanoprokaryote research in Western Australia, in particular the molecular characterisation of bloom-forming toxic species.
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Main, Michael Thomas. "An investigation into the spatial distribution, habitat selection and resource usage of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) inhabiting urban reserves within Perth, Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2020. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2351.
Full textAbstract:
I attempted to track a population of urban foxes in Kings Park, but due to collar failure, only one collar was retrieved. The GPS telemetry data from this fox produced home range estimates for minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel density (KD) of 0.302 km² and 0.331 km², respectively. The fox was predominantly active at night, with a ten-fold increase in movement during nocturnal periods when compared to daytime movements. Roads and man-made tracks were important for facilitating movement of the fox through its home range, with almost 97% of location fixes recorded within 100m of these features. The fox showed a preference for parrot bush Banksia sessilis shrubland and disturbed areas containing exotic weeds and revegetation, while avoiding woodlands and open spaces.
Monitoring programs aimed at assessing the abundance of invasive species, as well as the severity of their impacts to the environment, are crucial for designing and implementing effective control strategies. I investigated the relative occupancy and diet of foxes at the local scale. Thirty one fox scats taken from two urban reserves revealed that medium-sized mammals, particularly brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and quenda (Isoodon fusciventer), and black rats (Rattus rattus) comprised a large proportion of fox diet. Fruits and seeds, predominantly those produced by the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla), also contributed to a large portion of the diet of foxes. I used 21 motion cameras deployed across 10 monitoring sites to estimate fox occupancy within Kings Park. Seasonality had a significant influence on probability of occupancy and detection for foxes inhabiting Kings Park, with the highest rates of detection seen during the summer months (December-February). This spike in detections is consistent with the timing of dispersing juveniles, which are likely to be immigrating into the area in search of a suitable home range.
Improving the effectiveness of conservation strategies through collaborative research is a key outcome of the Kings Park and Botanic Gardens Management Plan 2014-2019 strategic framework and implementing control measures for pest animals is a priority target for both this plan and the Bold Park Management Plan 2011-2016. Numerous methods have been used to control and/or mitigate their impacts within Australia, however, the success rates of these strategies vary. With the information gained from this investigation, it is my hope that future fox monitoring and control programs can be improved within the reserves and surrounding land uses.
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Rhodes, Monika, and n/a. "The Ecology and Conservation of the White-Striped Freetail Bat (Tadarida australis) in Urban Environments." Griffith University. Australian School of Environmental Studies, 2006. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20070314.114451.
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Of all anthropogenic pressures, urbanisation is one of the most damaging, and is expanding in its influence throughout the world. In Australia, 90% of the human population live in urban centres along the eastern seaboard. Before European settlement in the early 1800s, much of the Australia's East coast was dominated by forests. Many of the forest dependent fauna have had to adapt to forest fragmentation and habitat loss resulting from clearing for urbanisation. However, relatively few studies have investigated the impact of urbanisation on biodiversity. This is especially true for the remaining fauna in large metropolitan areas, such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The physical and conceptual context of this thesis is the increasing impact of urbanisation and the potentially threatening factors to forest dependent fauna. Bats were selected because they comprise a third of Australia's mammal species, and therefore form a major component of Australia's biodiversity. Very little is known about the ecology and conservation biology of hollow-dependent bats in general, but particularly in urban environments. The study was conducted in Brisbane, south-east Queensland, one of Australia's most biodiverse regions. More than a third of Australia's bat species occur in this region. A large insectivorous bat, the white-striped freetail bat (Tadarida australis), was selected to study two key resources in this urban area - hollow availability and foraging habitat. This thesis also examined if artificial roost habitat could provide temporary roosts for white-striped freetail bats and other insectivorous bats and assessed whether these bat boxes can be used as a conservation tool in urban environments where natural hollow-availability is limited. The white-striped freetail bat is an obligate hollow-dweller and roosted largely in hollows of old or dead eucalypts throughout Brisbane's urban matrix. These roost trees harboured significantly more additional hollow-dependent species compared to control trees of similar age, height, and tree diameter. Roost cavities inside trees often exceeded 30 cm in diameter. Furthermore, maternity colonies used cavities of hollow trunks, which often extended into major branches, to roost in big numbers. Therefore artificial alternatives, such as small bat boxes, may provide temporary shelter for small roosting groups, but are unlikely to be suitable substitutes for habitat loss. Although five bat species used bat boxes during this study, the white-striped freetail bat was not attracted into bat boxes. Roost-switching behaviour was then used to quantify associations between individual white-striped freetail bats of a roosting group. Despite differences in gender and reproductive seasons, the bats exhibited the same behaviour throughout three radio-telemetry periods and over 500 bat-days of radio-tracking: each roosted in separate roosts, switched roosts very infrequently, and associated with other tagged bats only at a communal roost. Furthermore, the communal roost exhibited a hub of socialising between members of the roosting group especially at night, with vocalisation and swarming behaviour not found at any of the other roosts. Despite being spread over a large geographic area (up to 200 km2), each roost was connected to others by less than three links. One roost (the communal roost) defined the architecture of the network because it had the most links. That the network showed scale-free properties has profound implications for the management of the habitat trees of this roosting group. Scale-free networks provide high tolerance against stochastic events such as random roost removals, but are susceptible to the selective removal of hub nodes, such as the communal roost. The white-striped freetail bat flew at high speed and covered large distances in search for food. It foraged over all land-cover types found in Brisbane. However, its observed foraging behaviour was non-random with respect to both spatial location and the nature of the ground-level habitat. The main feeding areas were within three kilometers of the communal roost, predominantly over the Brisbane River flood plains. As the only mammal capable of flight, bats can forage above fragmented habitats. However, as this study showed, hollow-dependent insectivorous bats, including free-tailed bats, are specialised in their roosting requirements. The ongoing protection of hollow-bearing trees, and the ongoing recruitment of future hollow-bearing trees, is essential for the long-term conservation of these animals in highly fragmented landscapes. Furthermore, loss of foraging habitat is still poorly understood, and should be considered in the ongoing conservation of bats in urban environments.
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Lohr, Michael Thomas. "Response of Australian Boobooks (Ninox boobook) to threatening processes across urban, agricultural, and woodland ecosystems." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2019. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2255.
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The effects of habitat fragmentation on native wildlife can vary depending on the type of land use occurring in the matrix between remaining habitat fragments. I used Australian boobooks (Ninox boobook) in Western Australia to investigate interactions between matrix type and four different potential threatening processes: secondary poisoning by anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs); limitation of juvenile dispersal and impacts on spatial genetic structure; breeding site availability; and infection by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii.
I also conducted a literature review on the use and regulation of ARs in Australia and published accounts of non-target impacts in order to contextualise exposure patterns observed in boobooks. The review revealed records of confirmed or suspected poisoning across 37 vertebrate species in Australia. World literature relating to AR exposure in reptiles suggests that they may be less susceptible to AR poisoning than birds and mammals. This relative resistance may create unevaluated risks for wildlife and humans in Australia where reptiles are more abundant than in cooler regions where AR exposure has been studied in greater depth.
I analysed AR residues in boobook livers across multiple habitat types. Second generation anticoagulant rodenticides were detected in 72.6% of individuals sampled. Total AR concentration correlated positively with the proportion of urban land use within an area approximately the size of a boobook’s home range centred on the point where the sample was collected. ARs originating in urban habitat probably pose a substantial threat to boobooks and other predatory wildlife species.
No spatial genetic structure was evident in boobooks across habitat types. I observed one individual dispersing at least 26km from its natal home range across urban habitat. The apparent permeability of anthropogenically altered landscapes probably explains the lack of spatial genetic structure and is likely related to the observed ability of boobooks to use resources in both urban and agricultural matrices.
Boobooks did not appear to be limited by the availability of suitable nesting sites in urban or agricultural landscapes. Occupancy did not change significantly over the duration of the study in remnants provided with artificial nest boxes in either landscape type. However, in one instance, boobooks successfully used a nest box located in an urban bushland. Nest boxes may be a useful management tool in highly-altered areas where natural hollows are unavailable.
Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity in boobooks did not vary significantly by landscape type but was more prevalent in individuals sampled during cooler wetter times of year. Risk of exposure due to greater cat abundance in urban and agricultural landscapes may be offset by creation of environmental conditions less favourable to the survival of T. gondii oocysts in soil.
Taken together, this body of research demonstrates variation in relationships between different types of habitat fragmentation and threatening processes related to fragmentation. This research also raises questions about how habitat fragmentation is discussed and studied in the context of species which are capable of making extensive use of matrix habitat. I recommend greater consideration of the concept of “usable space” when studying fragmentation impacts in habitat generalists.
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Le, Roux Candice. "Nocturnal roost tree, roost site and landscape characteristics of Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorynchus latirostris) on the Swan Coastal Plain." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2017. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2017.
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There is limited information on communal roosting in parrot species of Western Australia and other parts of the world. Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo is an endangered species that forms large nocturnal communal roosts, and for this reason they are an ideal model species to test the characteristics or factors that are associated with roost sites. Known roost sites distributed across the Swan Coastal Plain were identified and selected through the Great Cocky Count project. A minimum of five and maximum of ten individual trees were assessed at 11 roost sites with an overall total of 95 roost trees sampled. I determined the tree species composition and vegetation structural arrangement, as well as the roost site location properties of each of the selected roosts. A total of 18 widely dispersed roost sites on the Swan Coastal Plain were chosen for spatial analysis of landscape characteristics at three scales, namely 1, 6 and 12 km radii around each roost. Landscape characteristics were derived from data layers using a geographical information system. Generalized linear modelling was used to investigate which landscape variables best explain the roost count numbers and fidelity of Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo at the three spatial scales. Landscape variables were broadly categorised into urban pressures, tree characteristics, and, food and water availability.
I found that at the roost tree scale, the cockatoos utilised a wide range of native and non-native trees, situated within a variety of land-use types. Results showed that bird’s roosted in tall (average of > 25 m) tree species that have relatively thick trunks (average DBH of 1 m) and medium foliage density (average of 50 %), and that are not too densely forested amongst other trees (average tree crown connectivity was 20.58 %). Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoos showed no preferences for any particular tree species or bark colour across the study sites. At the landscape scale, models (based on Akaike Information Criterion) showed that variables associated with bird abundance and roost fidelity varied with scale. The models highlighted the importance of a 1 km radius of potential roost trees (tall trees i.e. ≥ 8 m) across all scales, and food (Banksia and pine) and water sources, particularly within a 1 and 6 km radius. Study sites surrounded by more urban pressure may be driving greater numbers of Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo at such sites because the formation of larger flocks can increase resource location in fragmented landscapes. Reduced density of roads and non-native ground cover vegetation, over the greater landscape, indicated that restricting the amount of densely urbanised structures should be considered when further developing around roost sites across the Swan Coastal Plain.
The nocturnal roost study sites had greater fidelity and numbers of cockatoos with a combination of landscape variables at different scales, which are based on habitat structure, food availability and water availability. The understanding of the characteristics of communal roosts, roost site choice, and the surrounding matrix developed in this thesis provides managers with insights on how best to conserve this species.
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Mastalerz, Allison. "The role of ornamental gardening in forest plant invasions across an urban-rural gradient in Southwestern Ohio." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1377866412.
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Twitchett, William. "Le site urbain : potentialités : réflexions sur le développement responsable et équilibré des établissements humains à partir de six exemples français, égyptiens et australiens." Paris 4, 1995. http://www.theses.fr/1995PA040056.
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Cette étude comparative de sites est engagée dans le contexte de la prise de conscience actuelle sur la croissance de la population mondiale et spécialement sur celle de la population urbaine. Le site est considéré en tant que : support de la ville dans son évolution vers la région urbaine, facteur influençant cette évolution et élément de potentialité pour des villes dans l'avenir. Des précisions sont données sur les territoires regroupant les trois couples de cas choisis. Le changement d'échelle de la vie des citadins est souligné. Des questions telles que le climat et les bassins versants de référence sont abordés dans le tome 1; le tome 2 permet une présentation de la situation aux environs de 1800, un parcours sur la période de confirmation des grandes villes et une analyse plus approfondie de la période récente d'éclatement de la ville. Le tome 3 inclue un essai prospectif sur les six cas étudiés, en cherchant à cerner les obstacles qui s'opposent à une croissance éventuelle et à apprécier les potentialités de développement de chaque site. Les conclusions générales portent sur : la possibilité de généralisations à partir des études de cas, les significations des sites régionaux, l'influence des facteurs non maitrisables dans l'aménagement, l'importance relative de la notion de site ainsi que le développement par extrapolation ou par mutationThis thesis is a comparative study of sites carried out in the present context of world population growth and more particularly of urban population growth. The site is considered as: the support for the city in its evolution; an element of potential for cities in the future. Following the introduction, information is given concerning the territories in which the three couples of case studies have been chosen. The change of scale of lifestyle is underlined. To complete volume 1, several background questions are then presented, including those of climate and river basins. Volume 2 includes: presentation of the situation in 1800; the period of confirmation of the large cities; an analysis of the recent period of occupation of the urban site. Volume 3 includes a prospective approach to the six examples, attempting to identify obstacles to growth as well as to appreciate the development potential of each site. The general conclusions concern the value of generalizations based on the case studies, the significance of the regional site, the influence of unmanageable factors in urban development, the relative importance of the notion of site, as well as questions of development by extension or by mutation
Books on the topic "Urban Ecology Australia"
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Collins, Tony. Living for the city: Urban Australia, crisis or challenge? Sydney, NSW: ABC Books, 1993.
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Bridgman, H. A. Urban biophysical environments. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1995.
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To the beach. Crawley, WA: UWA Publishing, 2015.
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Healthy Built Environments in Australia. Taylor & Francis Group, 2019.
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City Dreamers: The Urban Imagination in Australia. NewSouth Publishing, 2016.
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Cary, Geoffrey, David Lindenmayer, and Stephen Dovers, eds. Australia Burning. CSIRO Publishing, 2003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643090965.
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The phenomenon of fire in the Australian landscape traverses many interests and disciplines. At a national level, there is an urgent need for the integration of both the natural and social sciences in the formulation of public policy.
With contributions from 30 leading experts, Australia Burning draws together these issues, under the themes:
Ecology and the environment
Fire behaviour and fire regime science
People and property
Policy, institutional arrangements and the legal framework
Indigenous land and fire management
The book examines some of the key questions that relate to the ecology, prediction and management of fire, urban planning, law, insurance, and community issues, including indigenous and non-indigenous concerns. It looks at what we need to know to inform public policy, given the present risks and uncertainty, and explores the avenues for closer integration between science, policy and the community.
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Hundloe, Tor, Craig Page, and Bridgette McDougall. Gold Coast Transformed: From Wilderness to Urban Ecosystem. CSIRO Publishing, 2015.
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Gold Coast Transformed: From Wilderness to Urban Ecosystem. CSIRO Publishing, 2015.
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Watson, David. Mistletoes of Southern Australia. CSIRO Publishing, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9781486310944.
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Mistletoes are an enigmatic group of plants. Lacking roots and depending on other plants for their livelihood, they have inspired a range of beliefs throughout the world. Some people regard them as being endowed with magical properties, others as destructive weeds that devalue native habitats, and still others as beautiful native plants that support wildlife.
This second edition of Mistletoes of Southern Australia is the definitive authority on these intriguing native plants. With specially commissioned watercolours by artist Robyn Hulley and more than 130 colour photographs, it provides detailed species accounts for all 47 species found in the region. It is fully updated throughout, with new distribution maps and new sections on fire, climate change and mistletoes in urban areas. It also describes the ecology, life history and cultural significance of mistletoes, their distribution in Australia and around the world, and practical advice on their management.
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Kerr, Thor. To the Beach: Community Conservation and Its Role in 'sustainable Development'. UWA Publishing, 2016.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Urban Ecology Australia"
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Ruiz-Avila, R. J., and V. V. Klemm. "Management of Hydrocotyle ranunculoides L.f., an aquatic invasive weed of urban waterways in Western Australia." In Management and Ecology of Freshwater Plants, 187–90. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5782-7_29.
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Downton, Paul Francis. "Adelaide and Whyalla: The Practice of Urban Ecology in Two Australian Eco-city Projects." In Urban Ecology, 359–64. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1998. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-88583-9_70.
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Daniels, Grant, and Jamie Kirkpatrick. "Ecology and Conservation of Australian Urban and Exurban Avifauna." In Ecology and Conservation of Birds in Urban Environments, 343–70. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43314-1_17.
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Foth, Marcus. "Analyzing the Factors Influencing the Successful Design and Uptake of Interactive Systems to Support Social Networks in Urban Neighborhoods." In Human Computer Interaction, 589–604. IGI Global, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-87828-991-9.ch039.
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In urban residential environments in Australia and other developed countries, Internet access is on the verge of becoming a ubiquitous utility like gas or electricity. From an urban sociology and community informatics perspective, this article discusses new emerging social formations of urban residents that are based on networked individualism and the potential of Internet-based systems to support them. It proposes that one of the main reasons for the disappearance or nonexistence of urban residential communities is a lack of appropriate opportunities and instruments to encourage and support local interaction in urban neighborhoods. The article challenges the view that a mere reappropriation of applications used to support dispersed virtual communities is adequate to meet the place and proximity-based design requirements that community networks in urban neighborhoods pose. It argues that the key factors influencing the successful design and uptake of interactive systems to support social networks in urban neighborhoods include the swarming social behavior of urban dwellers; the dynamics of their existing communicative ecology; and the serendipitous, voluntary, and place-based quality of interaction between residents on the basis of choice, like-mindedness, mutual interest and support needs. Drawing on an analysis of these factors, the conceptual design framework of a prototype system — the urban tribe incubator — is presented.
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Klaebe, Helen, Barbara Adkins, Marcus Foth, and Greg Hearn. "Embedding an Ecology Notion in the Social Production of Urban Space." In Social Computing, 2134–49. IGI Global, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-984-7.ch139.
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This chapter defines, explores and Illustrates research at the intersection of people, place and technology in cities. First, we theorise the notion of ecology in the social production of space to continue our response to the quest of making sense of an environment characterised by different stakeholders and actors as well as technical, social and discursive elements that operate across dynamic time and space constraints. Second, we describe and rationalise our research approach, which is designed to illuminate the processes at play in the social production of space from three different perspectives. We illustrate the application of our model in a discussion of a case study of community networking and community engagement in an Australian urban renewal site. Three specific interventions that are loosely positioned at the exchange of each perspective are then discussed in detail, namely: Sharing Stories; Social Patchwork and History Lines; and City Flocks.
Conference papers on the topic "Urban Ecology Australia"
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Lana, Luca. "Queer Terrain: Architecture of Queer Ecology." In The 38th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand. online: SAHANZ, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.55939/a4016p5dw3.
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This paper seeks to ally the interdisciplinary frameworks offered by ‘Queer Ecology’ with an architectural inquiry to expand both fields. Queer theory alone offers scant discussions of material and architectural practices, while environmental discourse in architecture fails to address its role in ecological and social-political violence. A clothing-optional / cruising beach in rural Victoria, Sandy Beach also known as Somers Beach, exemplifies how the queer body’s navigation of space responds to complex ecological, urban, and social conditions. A queering of architectural definitions allows this site to be researched as a historically significant urban/architectural site of social and environmental value. It is suggested that the subtle yet complex practices of site transformations enacted through occupation are an architecture of environmental connective possibility. ‘Queered’ corporeality orientates the body and material practices towards assemblages where boundaries between humans and nature are transgressed, ultimately constituting a ‘queer ecological architecture’